BAA Vault, Entry 1: Within the Games
by Beyond An Anomaly
Summary: Welcome to the BAA Vault, where you can look into the past to see what BAA's writing was like in the before time! In this issue, we dive into my first Fanfic ever, Within the Games, which was once published into Neopets' NT, (even though, looking back on it, I have no idea how...) Read at your own discretion, and enjoy!
1. And So It Begins!

**_Hi, hi, readers! Welcome to the first entry of the BAA Vault: Within the Games!_**

**_The Story: I wrote this about two years ago and it miraculously got published on the Neopian Times. Frankly, looking back at it, I have NOOOOOO idea how. There were once over 20 exclamation marks in one piece of dialogue, there are weird comma splices, and...yeah. That's all, I guess._**

**_Unedited, uncensored, and full of...interesting things. Enjoy, dearest amigos._**

**_-BAA_**

**_Special Note: I wrote this two years ago. Not recently. Therefore, this story isn't quite how I write now. You'll see what I mean later on...other than that...enjoy?_**

* * *

"Come on! Come on! Hold on to that platform," Marine the Zafara shouted as she was playing Shenkuu Warrior 2, her favorite game. "Get the bonuses! Get the bonuses! NO! Why did you fall? You were doing so well!"

Now, what you need to know about Marine is that she is a true gamer who enjoys a good video game. Marine is always in the search for a challenge. She's a tom-boy who loves adventures. What's so new about the Zafara?

As she started a new game, a Blumaroo named AAA walked by.

(Just in case if you don't know who AAA is, he is in charge of challenging you in beating his high score in new game every month. He also makes the Game Room on Neopets famous with the Daily Dare.)

"You really love that game, now do you?" AAA asked Marine. Marine paused her game and turned toward AAA.

"Yeah, yeah, I do! It's my favorite game!" Marine replied.

"Ever since that game came out, you've been coming in here and been playing it nonstop!" said AAA.

"I do come here every day, now do I?" remarked Marine.

"Yeah! I mean I've NEVER seen anyone play one game so often!"

"Wait a minute... you're AAA right?"

"That's my name! Daily Dare host and gamer extraordinaire!" AAA replied happily.

"Well, I... I uh...," Marine gasped with amazement. She always admired AAA for his beyond amazing scores. She always wanted to be like him. Getting insane scores that created Neopia history and being famous for her favorite activity: game playing.

"I... I like your glasses." She sighed because right when she said it, she felt horribly embarrassed and felt very stupid after all the comments she could have chosen and what she DID choose.

"Well... uh... thank you?" AAA replied with an odd look in his eye as he adjusted his 3D glasses held together by a single strand of duct tape.

"Sorry... that was VERY awkward..." quietly sighed Marine.

"It's okay! We all have those... uh..."

"Dingy moments?"

"Heheheh... yeah. Dingy moments..."

AAA was slowly forming a slow smile on his face he was slyly trailing off and forming a sly gleam in his eyes. Marine knew far too well what that meant.

"Oh boy, I think I know what you're going to do now!"

"And what's that?"

"You're going to..."

"CHALLENGE YOU TO SHENKUU WARRIOR 2!" AAA exclaimed. He had his nose in the air, as if he knew he would win.

"HA! BRING IT ON, BOUNCY BOY!" replied Marine. She accepted AAA's challenge, but she didn't exactly think it through.

They played for what seemed to be about an hour. They were playing the highest score wins. AAA scored 100,000 points. Marine scored 340,000 points. She had no idea that she would win, more specifically crush him.

"YAY! I WIN!" She beamed.

"I lost...," AAA thought he was going to cry. He got crushed by a stranger. _But... she may be worthy to... to..._

"What's your name?" AAA asked, still bummed out that he lost.

"Marine. Marine Khia," answered Marine.

"Anyway, I want to ask you something, Marine."

"And that may be?"

"Is this the ONLY game you like?"

"Well, I mean it's not the ONLY game I like," replied Marine. "To be blunt honest, I love all the games! Sometimes, I love the video games here so much, I wish... I wish..."

"You wish what?"

"Oh," thought AAA. "what does she wish for? What does she mean?"

"I wish I could actually be IN the game! See through the character's eyes! Fly through the skies like that princess in Shenkuu Warrior 2!" Marine pointed excitedly at the game screen at the frozen princess in the middle of flying up to a cloud.

"You wish you were in the game?" AAA asked quizzically.

"This may just be the person I need!" AAA thought again.

"Yeah, but I know it's wishful and very foolish thinking, but I just think it's pretty cool to think about. If I could be in an arcade game once, just once, I would be the happiest Zafara alive!"

It was Marine's lifelong dream to be in a video game. As you know, that would be the ultimate adventure, and you now know how Marine loves adventures!

"Say..."

"What?" Marine asked.

"You can actually help me with something that can make all of these games tons more adrenaline rushing then they already are!" replied AAA happily.

"Sure! I currently have nothing on my agenda today, so what I help you with?"

AAA looked to see if anyone was watching them talk to each other.

"Follow me," AAA whispered quietly.

AAA tip-toed slowly and quietly and Marine just as quietly followed him. He and Marine stopped at a black, mysterious door. He took out a large ring of keys from his front pocket and found the key he was looking for. He unlocked the door with the key that was equally mysterious as the door. AAA slowly creaked the door opened and walked in. Marine followed. She didn't know what to think. She entered the dimly lit room that had an old office desk in the corner, a recliner, an old pinball machine, and a mysterious object covered by a curtain and surrounded by a bunch of tools, gears, and what looked like blueprints for what looked like a computer device.

"What is this place?" Marine finally asked.

"It's my private office. This is where I go when the Game Room gets too crowded and chaotic during the day."

"Whoa! What is THAT?" Marine gasped as she was pointing at the curtained object in the middle of AAA's office.

"Oh, that! I was hoping you'd ask that! This was why I took you in here! Marine, I give you..."

AAA pulled down the curtain from the mysterious item.

"The Cyber-Port 2000! It's a machine that can teleport you inside any game in the Game Room! Would you believe that you are the only person that has seen it?"

"Really? Cool! Does anyone else know about this? Not see... but know?" Marine exclaimed.

"No, you're the only one. I can never let anyone know about this... This is a crazy device; I still have kinks to work out. Someone can get seriously hurt with this thing and someone else may take it the wrong way! And what will happen if people figured that out, huh? I'd be on the Neopian Times the next morning, that's what would happen! But," said AAA, "I can trust you... You don't seem like the type who would just give away secrets."

"Wait... what about your little sister Abigail? Wouldn't she know about it if ANYONE?" Marine asked.

"Well, I actually DID try to tell her. She thought that I was crazy and was making up stories. She teased me by saying I had Floppy Tongue and couldn't talk right..." mumbled AAA.

"Well, my friend Margo had Floppy Tongue before! She couldn't talk right for a week!" Marine tried to joke around with AAA, but it was futile.

She coughed and quickly changed the subject.

"And as for me?"

"You took this really seriously... a little more seriously than I could have. And I invented it! You actually seem excited about it! I mean, that's what I like about you. You have... potential for this project. I like you..."

"Oh! Well, thanks!"

"*cough*, *cough*. So anyway," AAA said with an awkward tone. "I've been working on this baby for years, but the problem is I need a tester to try it out, and that's where you come in! The problem is, it's very dangerous, but it can be fun. Would you be interested?" asked AAA.

Marine had an amazed look in her eye. She was off into her own universe. It finally happened. Marine's wish came true... and all she had to do was go to the Game Room and do her daily routine. She never had any idea it was that easy... she would have never known...

"Wow," thought Marine. "I can't believe this! This is amazing! Good thing I woke up this morning! HAHAHAHA! If I knew it was this easy, well... I would have been created SO much earlier! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Hello? Marine?" AAA snapped his fingers in front of her face. He then started waving his hand in front of her face to the fact that snapping was fruitless. "Yoohoo! Marine! Come back to Neopia!"

Marine snapped out of her universe and came back to Neopia.

"Are you kidding? I'd love to! I'd love to try the Cyber-Port 2000 NOW!" she replied with excitement.

AAA hesitated with a surprised look on his face. "What did you say?"

"I want to do it now!" repeated Marine.

"Wow, really? But I still have some kinks to work out first! I was thinking of calling you in about five years or-"

"I wanna try it! I wanna try it!" interrupted Marine with anticipation as she was scrambling toward the Cyber-Port 2000.

"I'm warning you... it can be dangerous!"

"Is this the Power button?" asked Marine while pressing the button on the side of the machine.

"Well, yes, but the game will be completely different than what it appears on the screen!" AAA answered with a nervous tone.

"So, do you step on this platform to get in the game?" Marine stepped on the platform and looked up at the large screen with a list of hundreds of games over the platform.

"Yeah, but you may never return! You might VANISH! Maybe FOREVER!"

"Is this where you choose which game you want to be in?" Marine got on her tiptoes and touched the screen. She scrolled down the list to find Shenkuu Warrior 2. She pressed the green button that said "PLAY" under the screen. Suddenly, a flash of rainbow colors burst from the platform where Marine was standing.

"Marine! Stop! This is unsafe business! You might get hurt! Or worse!"

"HAHAHAHA! This tickles!" Marine giggled as lights of electricity started to gently rub against her, at the point where it actually started to tickle her.

"Marine! PLEASE stop!"

"Oooooooh! Pretty colors!" Marine said as she was disappearing into the array of light.

"Marine!"

"Shenkuu Warrior 2, here I come!" she yelled before she vanished. Pops and whirrs came from the machine. The sounds of fast spinning gears and the buzz of the electrical circuits in the machine pervaded the room.

"MARINE!" screamed AAA.

A large, immense flash of light burst forth into the room. AAA covered his eyes due to the brightness.

The noises of the Cyber-Port 2000 were getting louder and louder. And Marine was becoming less and less visible. She was being teleported to the forever changing world of cyberspace.

The noises and the light was getting to the point where it was beginning to scare AAA. When the lights and the noises were at their fullest, suddenly the madness stopped, leaving the room as dimly lit and mysteriously quiet as it was before.

AAA opened his eyes to see if she was still there. But she wasn't.

She was gone.

"Oh no! Marine! What have I done?"

_To be continued..._

* * *

**_Yep. Wasn't that just AWESOME?_**


	2. AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

"AHHHHHHHH!" Marine was hurling down from the sky at an immense speed. Suddenly, she stopped abruptly when she landed flat on her stomach.

"Ouch! Wait a minute," Marine said as she looked puzzlingly around her. "Where am I?"

She got up and walked around slowly. She saw nothing but green grass and blue sky for miles around. She saw a mountainous landscape. She then looked up and saw a huge tree with some mushrooms attached on its sides.

"What the..."

AAA was sitting in his recliner weeping. "Oh, what have I done? WHAT HAVE I DONE? I could have stopped her! Now she's probably lost in cyberspace and will never return! Even though I didn't know her that well, I'll still miss her! I'll never forgive myself! I'M THE WORST BLUMAROO ALIVE!" cried AAA.

"Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear me?" Marine yelled.

AAA stopped sobbing. "I can still hear her sweet little voice! But where is it coming from?"

He frantically looked around for Marine. He looked under his recliner, under his desk, even behind his pinball machine. He was so desperate to find her, he was willing to look anywhere, even in things as small as his toolbox.

"Hello? Anyone?" Marine yelled once more.

AAA stopped searching and started scratching his head.

"Okay, now it's getting weird..." said AAA.

He still had no idea where Marine was. Well, you're most likely thinking that Marine was literally in Shenkuu Warrior 2, right? If you were, then congratulations, genius! Marine was in Shenkuu Warrior 2, but AAA doesn't know that, now does he? For all he knows, Marine's voice was coming from the beyond of the beyonds!

"Anyone there? Can anybody hear me?" Marine yelled.

"I think I'm going insane! Next up is the nuthouse!"

AAA was rubbing his forehead, having ideas of himself in a padded room, wearing a strait jacket, babbling like a maniac. He shivered at the thought, but he was also shivering at the thought of Marine lost in cyberspace.

"HELLO?!" Marine screamed.

"Oh, Fyora's slippers, make it stop!" AAA shouted.

AAA was about to start crying again. He was too young to get his very own asylum. He was having horrid nightmares of himself laughing and screaming with insanity.

"AAA? Is that you?"

"Huh? What? Marine?" AAA looked around and finally walked towards the Cyber-Port 2000. He looked at the screen and saw Marine walking around the landscape.

"Marine? Can you hear me?" AAA asked as he was talking into the microphone attached to the machine.

"Yeah, I can hear you, but I can't see you!" she replied.

"Oh! Just a minute!" AAA pressed a blinking orange button that said "VIEW".

"How about now? Can you see me?"

"Whoa! You're in the sky," Marine exclaimed when she looked up into the sky. "Your head is gigantic! Where am I? Why is everything so pixelly, and-," Marine looked down. "*gasp* What happened to my clothes? I'm wearing a... a ninja suit! OH MY GOSH! I liked my clothes better! My khakis! My rainbow socks! My sweatband! My Snowflake Shirt! My... my...," She felt around her neck.

"MY COLLAR! MY BLACK JEWEL ENCRUSTED COLLAR!"

Marine always wore a black jewel encrusted collar ever since she was a wee little Zafara. She always wore it for good luck for whatever she did. Whenever she took it off, she would act really different. She would be drowsy, cranky, irritated easily. But due to the fact this collar disappeared right off of her neck, she started to freak out and almost cry.

"Okay then... Well anyway, apparently you're in Shenkuu Warrior 2," said AAA.

"No way!"

Marine didn't know if she was excited or anxious. She was feeling around her neck to see if it was invisible or if it was hiding behind her neck. Oh sure, she loved the game, but she didn't know what it was like when you were LITERALLY in the game.

"Yep, I guess my invention DOES work after all," AAA said quietly.

"Well, how do I play?"

"You see the grappling hook around your waist?"

"Yeah. And I also have a Fir named Mr. Christmas. What's your point?"

See what I mean by cranky and easily irritated? You know, it's pretty weird what good luck charms can do to you when you are without them...

"Try to throw it up to one of those mushrooms! Like in the game!"

"Okay, here it goes!" Marine threw the hook to a mushroom and was able to cling it to the ledge. She flew up into the sky at great speed!

"Now throw it at another one!" shouted AAA.

"Wait, what? Oh!" She threw the hook again at another mushroom. It hung on.

"Just be careful!" AAA said.

"When does this game end?" yelled Marine as she was flying up in the air.

"When you win this game," answered AAA.

"How long will that take?" Marine asked as she clung on to another mushroom.

"That's all up to you, Marine! This is your game!"

"I remember! You're supposed to reach a certain altitude! I think on this level it's about 30,000 feet! I'm almost there! What's my altitude now, AAA?"

"25,000 feet! I can see the finish! You're almost there!"

"I see it too! I got it! I got it! Yes!" Marine hung on to the finishing mushroom. She made it!

"YAY! I did it!" Marine said as she reached the finish.

"Good job! Just walk to the left at the rocky hillside. This time, cling on to the bridges. The platforms will get smaller, you know!"

"I got it! I got it!"

Marine began her game. She threw the hook at a bridge and she flew up the rocky cliff. She threw her hook at another one. And another one. And yet another one.

She was on a roll for a while, until...

"Oh no! No! NOOOOO!" Marine's hook slipped off of the small bridge and she was plummeting down, down, down, down to the start.

"AHHHHHH!" She was falling faster and faster from the sky and abruptly landed on the ground like when she first got within the game.

Well, there's the luck part when it came to that collar of hers.

"Marine! Are you alright?" AAA asked from his office.

She slowly stood up and massaged her shoulders.

"Yeah. I mean... yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm... I'm fine."

"Um, okay... let's go!"

Marine started flying like she did before. She was quickly holding on to platforms one by one. She was flying almost at the speed of sound.

"Almost there! How much altitude do I need?"

"I think almost 60,000! You're at 50,000! Just a few more platforms and you're there!" answered AAA.

Marine could see the finish above her. She raced up towards it. She was almost there and...

"Yes! Two down, one to go!" Marine cheered.

"Alright, Marine! Well done! This will be challenging, though. You'll be going up the summit of the mountain. You know what that means! Freezing temperature. 100,000 feet altitude. Platforms that disappear before your very eyes."

Marine walked to the left of the mountain where there was an opening to grab onto ledges to fly. She was beginning to shiver as she was walking there. She could see her white breath that almost froze in midair.

"Ready?" asked AAA.

She looked up and saw the numerous ledges with cloths dangling across them. She saw the old bridge-like ledges with dirty brown cloths. She knew that those ledges could make her slip up and ruin the game. 100,000 feet. She couldn't screw this up now. That could lead to a broken bone, or worse...

"Yeah... I'm ready!"

She threw her hook into the air. It flew higher and higher until it finally clung on to a good ledge.

Marine was catapulted up to the freezing wind. She took in her surroundings. She saw the freezing snow. The icy ledges. And then she saw...

A kite!

A kite was just what she needed! She could fly up at least twice as higher than she could with a grappling hook!

She threw it up to the ledge and the kite flew down. She caught it with her right hand and got a great tailwind.

And man, did that Zafara fly!

"Wheee! This is fun! What's my altitude, AAA?"

"50,000!" replied AAA.

"Okay, halfway there!"

She flew higher and higher. She seemed to get luckier and luckier when it came to kites. It was then when she started to wonder about her collar and how lucky it really was. Not like she was going to throw it away or anything, but it was stylish! Even a tom-boy wouldn't throw away their most stylish accessory!

She was now at an altitude of 80,000. She was almost there!

"Just a couple more ledges, Marine!" AAA replied excitedly.

"Yeah! I can see the finish!"

She hung on to one more ledge, and then...

"YEAH! I WON!"

Marine made it! She won the whole game!

"Yay, Marine! You did it!" AAA cheered excitedly.

"Great job, Marine!" AAA shouted. With a whirr of noises and lights, Marine returned with sweat on her face and had her regular clothes on.

Marine felt around her neck and felt her collar where it was before.

"MY COLLAR! OH HOW I MISSED YOU!"

She embraced the accessory around her neck and kissed the gold tag hanging from it.

"Uh... Marine?"

AAA stared at Marine with an odd look on his face. And who could blame him? A dancing Zafara kissing the tag on her collar is not exactly what you call "normal".

"What? Oh! Uh... so what's next?" asked Marine.

She snapped out of her collar-loving.

"Well, I did think of a good idea if you HONESTLY want to do this again!"

"Really? And what may that be?" Marine asked.

"Maybe we could test out some of the other games in the Game Room! We could try out the most popular games! If you want, we could even try some classics! We can do millions of games with this machine! You and me! What do you say?"

Marine paced around the floor for a moment until she finally said: "I say, let the games begin!"

_To be continued..._


	3. Margo the Bummer!

Marine was reading a book on Faerie Racers game cheats in her bedroom when she heard ringing from her Call-Screen, a new invention that her friend Ronny the Nimmo gave her for Christmas.

"I'll get it!" Marine shouted.

"Believe me. I sure wasn't planning to get it," said her friend that lived with her, Margo the Kacheek, who was trying to take a nap in her room.

You remember Marine's friend Margo in Part 1? Where Marine joked about her friend Margo having Floppy Tongue? Well, this is her! She's a yellow Kacheek who loves with a capital LOVES to sleep! She never understands technology and she's a total pessimistic. Marine and Margo are pretty much opposites.

"Hello?" Marine answered on the Call-Screen to the unknown caller.

"Marine? Is that you? I need you here as soon as possible!" It was AAA. Apparently Ronny gave the same invention to two people. Pretty creative of him, isn't it? I guess that's why I have this huge pile of Call-Screens in my-

Oh, right. The story! Well anyway, on with the story!

"AAA? Is that you?"

"No, Marine. It's Santa Claus."

"Alright, alright. I'll be at the Game Room ASAP!" Marine replied annoyingly. "Margo! I'm going to go to the Game Room today!"

"Gee, that's some news," Margo said sarcastically. She knew Marine all too well to know what she does every day.

She knew that she woke up at 8:00 A.M. NST (Neopian Standard Time) every morning.

She knew that she had Orange Juice with Toast and Gooseberry Jam every morning when she woke up.

She knew that she would go take her Fir Mr. Christmas for a walk after breakfast.

She knew that she would come back to the Neohome and drop off Mr. Christmas.

She knew that she'd read a stupid game cheats book.

She knew that after she read thirty minutes of the book, she would go to the Game Room EVERY SINGLE DARN DAY.

"I'll be gone... for a while."

"Okay. Whatever." Margo yawned.

She turned over on her side with no interest in where Marine was going whatsoever.

"Do you want to come along? I mean, it is a fun place and you've never played a video game in your LIFE! Do you want to try and play one?"

This was true. Marine had tried to convince Margo to go to the Game Room every day ever since they first met, but with no success. Isn't it sad? *sob, sob*

*ahem* Sorry about that. Let's get back to the story!

"I never liked video games and I never will!" She covered her head with her pillow to block out the noise of her friend blabbering away, trying to convince her to go to the Game Room.

"But you're missing out on all the fun!"

"*hmph* Says the person who does the EXACT SAME THING EVERY DAY!" she bellowed under her blankets and pillows.

"Well, I like to know what YOU have done today!" she bellowed back.

Margo thought of what she did today.

Let's see, she woke up at 10:00 A.M. NST.

She ate a bowl of buttered oatmeal.

She brushed her hair and did her nails.

And she took a nap, what's she's currently doing right now.

What she has been doing all her life... and she liked it that way!

"Well, my point is," she muttered loudly. "I HATE VIDEO GAMES AND I'M NOT GOING!"

"You've never even played a game, so how do you know?"

"The concept of them is stupid and the graphics bother my eyes and OW! Hey!" Marine couldn't stand it.

She couldn't take it anymore. She stomped into Margo's room, grabbed Margo by her tail, and dragged her off her bed and across the ground.

"Where are you taking me? I DEMAND ANSWERS!"

Marine shut the front door and dragged Margo across the grass and gravel.

"You're going to that Game Room and you're going to like it!" answered Marine with determination.

"So you're KIDNAPPING me just to go to the GAME ROOM?!" she asked.

"Well, interpretations vary, so if that's what you think, then yes! Yes, I am!"

"Well, in that case, then help! Help! I'm being held hostage!"cried Margo.

Margo clawed the ground and tried to claw her way back to her nice, warm, soft bed. Well, as you would guess, with Marine pulling her tail in the opposite direction, it was pretty useless unless if Margo's tail came right off.

Marine and Margo finally arrived at the Game Room.

"Great! Can I go home now?" asked Margo with a hint of annoyance.

Marine was brushing the grass and dirt off of Margo's orange dress.

"Of course not! Like I said, you're going to play video games and YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE IT!"

"Grrr... OW! MY EAR! LET GO OF MY EAR!" she roared.

Marine dragged Margo in the Game Room with her ear. She let go of Margo's ear.

"Now, I'll be back in one hour, and when I come back, I'm going to make sure that you play at least one game!"

"Really, and how will you know? Are you a PSYCHIC?" asked Margo sourly.

"Hey! You there!" She pointed at a nervous little Wocky playing JubJub Bubble.

"Y-y-y-y-yes?" he stuttered. He quit his game and walked towards Marine and annoyed Margo.

"Will you watch this Kacheek and make sure that she plays at least one game? Just one?"

"S-s-s-s-s-s-sure..." he answered nervously.

"This is stupid! Oh well." Margo sighed. She walked over to Kookia and the Wocky followed.

Marine walked quietly to the same mysterious black door to AAA's office where she discovered the machine that could teleport you to any game in that Game Room. (Read Part 1!)

She knocked quietly on the door.

"It's open!" AAA shouted.

Marine slowly creaked the door open and saw AAA smile at her as he was sitting on his recliner.

"Hey, Marine!" AAA said.

"Hi, AAA!"

"You want to play Destruct-O-Match 3 with me?" asked AAA.

"Destruct-O-Match 3? You and me? We can do that?"

"We sure can! I fixed up the machine so two players can play at once!"

"Cool!"

"Ready?" AAA asked.

"I sure am! Let's begin!"

AAA and Marine walked towards the machine, pressed the power button, chose Destruct-O-Match 3, pressed the "PLAY" button, and with a blast of colors, they both got into Destruct-O-Match 3.

"Ugh! This game is AWFUL!"yelled Margo after she lost her 57th game of Kookia.

"W-w-w-well, I-I-I don't t-t-t-think that p-p-p-p-p-laying it in the h-h-h-h-h-hard l-l-l-level w-w-will h-h-help you," the Wocky stuttered back.

"What's your name, anyway?" snapped Margo.

The Wocky hesitated for a little bit.

"Uh... J-J-J-J-J-effery. It's J-J-J-J-J-Jeffery."

"Well, 'Jeffery'," Margo said as she was air quoting Jeffery's name. "What other game should we play?"

"F-f-f-f-f-follow me!"

Jeffery waddled over to Zurroball and Margo followed, annoyed.

Two hundred games later, Margo was still annoyed with all the video games and Jeffery was exhausted by the fact that he was trying so hard to please Margo.

"*huff, huff* Do y-y-y-y-y-y-you w-w-w-w-w-want to t-t-try o-o-o-o-one m-m-more game?"

"There's ONE MORE? Oh good grief!" she muttered.

"D-D-D-D-DO Y-Y-Y-Y-YOU?" Jeffery asked.

"Fine, whatever!" she answered.

The stuttering Wocky wobbled over to Destruct-O-Match 3, a game all Neopets love! And if Margo didn't like this game, then Jeffery didn't know WHAT she'd like!

"Alright, let's start this train wreck!" she muttered under her breath.

She started to play, and as she was, her eyes were starting to get wide. Her hands were starting to shake. She was starting to... smile!

"Hey... this game isn't that bad! You know what would be cool? If I was actually IN this game!"

"Y-y-y-y-yeah it w-w-would be pretty c-c-c-cool," the Wocky replied. He was so relieved that she was FINALLY satisfied.

Margo looked up at a clock that hung over the front door.

"It's been about an hour now. I'm going to go try and find Marine. Come on!"

"O-o-o-o-o-oh I've g-g-g-got to g-g-g-g-go home n-n-n-now! M-m-m-m-mommy's waiting f-f-f-f-for me! J-J-J-J-Just tell y-y-y-y-y-your f-f-f-friend t-t-t-that you p-p-p-p-played a g-g-g-game!" the Wocky said as he looked at his watch. He ran out of the door.

"Well, it was nice to meet you too!" she yelled as he ran out the door.

She walked around the Game Room to find Marine, but she wasn't anywhere in sight.

She tapped a Lutari playing Word Pyramid on the shoulder.

"Excuse me!"

The Lutari paused his game and turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen a green female Zafara? She's has blue eyes. She wears a yellow sweatband with a blue T-Shirt and khakis. She wears this black, jeweled collar. Have you seen her anywhere?" questioned Margo.

"A Zafara, you say?"

"Yeah! Have you seen her?"

"Now that you mention it, I DID see a Zafara walk into that door over there!"

He pointed at the black door to AAA's office.

"Hey, thanks!" she replied.

"No problem!" he happily exclaimed. He turned around and went right back to his game.

She walked to the back of the Game Room where AAA's office was.

Before she turned the knob, Margo wondered: "What would Marine be doing in there? Could it be a gift shop? A bathroom? Yeah, probably a bathroom. What else could it be? A gift shop? What was I thinking? I should knock first... just in case!"

AAA and Marine won Destruct-O-Match 3 and got back into the real world.

"Man, what a rush!" AAA said.

"Yeah, we should do it again some-"

Margo knocked on the door to AAA's office. "Marine? Are you in there?"

"Oh no! Margo!" Marine whispered.

"Who?" asked AAA.

Margo opened the door. "Hey! What's that?" She pointed at the Cyber-Port and stepped onto one of the platforms.

"Margo! NO!" Marine yelled.

"Hey! What does this button do?"

She pressed the green button that said "PLAY" with Destruct-O-Match still on the screen. With an explosion of light and colors that blinded AAA and Marine, the light disappeared, and Margo with it.

"Oh no! Margo," said Marine. "She's... she's... gone!"

_To be continued..._


	4. The Worstest Friend Alive!

Marine, still in deep shock one hour after her disappearance, was weeping and AAA was desperately trying to comfort her.

"Oh, I'm so stupid! I knew that I shouldn't have dragged Margo here! I knew it! I'm a despicable being! Oh why, oh why did this happen? I'm a horrible friend!" cried Marine.

"Well, Marine, if it makes you feel any better, I lost my Petpet Spyder last month because he accidentally fell in the sink and when I brushed my teeth, well... let's just say the Itsy Bitsy Spyder never crawled up the spout again!"

Like when Marine tried to cheer up AAA when he was talking about how Abigail made fun of him saying he had Floppy Tongue whenever he talked about his vision to her, he tried to joke around with Marine, but like then, it was futile.

"AAA, that only makes me SADDER! That's horrible! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"

She sobbed even louder.

"Oh, PLEASE stop crying!" begged AAA.

"Why should I stop crying? My best friend is... GONE FOREVER!" she wailed.

"Marine! It's not your fault! You couldn't have done anything about it!" said AAA.

Then Marine stopped crying and smiled because she thought of a great idea. Why? Well, she said:

"I HAVE AN IDEA!"

Well, duh. But the breakthrough REALLY happened when AAA asked:

"What may that be?"

"Remember when you played Shenkuu Warrior 2, and when you watched me?"

"Yeah, I do! What about it?"

"Can we watch Margo?"

"Why yes, yes we can!" answered AAA. He and Marine walked over to the Cyber-Port 2000. AAA pressed the "VIEW" button and Marine watched him.

Both AAA and Marine walked to the machine. They both watched the screen.

"Can you see her?" asked Marine.

"No, not yet," AAA replied.

Marine moved closer to the microphone and talked into it.

"Margo? Margo? Can you hear me? Margo?"

"AHHHHHHH!" Margo was flying down to the ground just like Marine when she first tried the Cyber-Port 2000.

Margo landed abruptly on the ground.

"Ow! Oh, I think I broke every bone in my entire body..." Margo got up and massaged her shoulder.

"Margo? MARGO!" Marine shouted.

"Marine?" Margo said. She looked around the scenery. There was nothing but rocks and sand. Sand, sand, sand. The sky looked orange with pterodactyls flying across it. Volcanoes lined the land. In front of her were large, square, colorful blocks stacked one by one atop each other. She looked down at her clothes and found herself wearing a fur wrap with a mallet in her hand.

"Margo! Look behind you! Above you!" Marine yelled.

Margo turned around and looked up and saw Marine looking down at her with a worried look in her eyes.

"Whoa! Your head is gigantic, Marine!"

"Just listen to me, Margo! This is dangerous stuff you're dealing with here!"

"Where am I?"

"You're in Destruct-O-Match 3," Marine replied with a sigh.

"Well, how do I get out of here?" Margo asked.

"Apparently, the only way to get out is to beat the level."

"So, I actually PLAY the game?"

"Yes. The object of the game is to-"

"Marine! I know how to play!"

"You do?" Marine asked.

"Yeah! I... I... I like this game!" Margo was knocking down block after block. Brick by brick. The rocks were breaking into bits and chips. Margo hit one by one with her mallet.

"Marine! How many more points do I need to win?" Margo asked.

"Ten! You're almost there!" Marine shouted.

"I see a perfect group of blocks!" Margo exclaimed. She gave the group of ten blocks one strong whack, and...

"I DID IT! I DID IT! Yahoo!" Margo screamed with happiness.

"Great job, Margo!"

"Wait! Aren't I supposed to be OUT of this game by now?"

Margo converted from happiness to disappointment in a blink of an eye.

"Well, in order to win this game, you have to win the first level of every mode. Like Double Trouble, Extreme, and Double Trouble Extreme. You just won the first level of Classic Mode, so you got three more to go. "

"Oh... well, let's do this thing!" She had false hope for a second, but it WAS pretty fun for her. She was able to brighten up a little bit.

Now started Double Trouble.

Alright, gaming newbies! Time for Gaming Class! Today we will learn about the levels Margo will face in everyone's favorite Tyrannian pastime: Destruct-O-Match 3!

Double Trouble Mode is a mode in which the player's blocks are divided in half. However, this means that they have to play not with one big block, but TWO small blocks! It's like playing two levels at once!

Extreme Mode is to some actually extreme. This is when the blocks begin to grow higher and higher by rows of blocks being added on the bottom! Not cool!

And Double Trouble Extreme! Let me tell ya! It can be fun, but it's a doozy! It's exactly what you think! Two small blocks that continually get added on row by row. Pretty crazy, right?

Well, I hope you enjoyed today's class, students! Your homework: Keep reading "Within the Games!"

Margo was baffled by the two blocks.

"Why are there TWO blocks? Is this a glitch, or is this some prank that you're pulling for yelling at you earlier?" Margo asked to Marine.

"No... but that would be a HILARIOUS prank!" giggled Marine.

"Then what's going on?"

"This mode is called Double Trouble!"

"So, I have to get rid of all the blocks I can?"

"Yes! You have to get the required amount of blocks at least at one of the blocks."

"Well... let's go!"

And she started the show with a breeze! She slammed through blocks like no one's business! She started with one block and that one block was getting smaller and smaller.

"I'm not even breaking a sweat! How many more blocks do I need?"

"Thirty more blocks for both of them," Marine answered.

"Alright! No problem!"

She went through both of the blocks easily.

She flew through Double Trouble in a breeze!

"Are you serious? That was a LEVEL?! Shoot! I could do it with my eyes closed!"

"Don't get cocky, now! You may be winning, but you haven't won! You still have two more modes to go!" replied Marine.

Extreme Mode was about to begin.

At first, Margo was smirking when she saw only three rows of blocks.

"HA! Three rows? That's not a challenge! THAT'S A PLAYDATE!"

Then, the block started to get higher and higher.

Margo wasn't paying attention to the ever-growing block. In fact, she was too busy laughing about the mode and how easy that she thought it was.

"Margo! MARGO! Turn to the block! IT'S GETTING BIGGER!"

Margo looked up to Marine, confused.

"What?"

"TURN AROUND! NOW!"

"WHOA!" gasped Margo.

The block was almost all the way to the top. And when the block hits the top, it's closed curtains for you!

Margo's mallet was flying around and hitting every block within range. Her eyes were closed and she was swinging that hammer as if she was hitting her worst enemy. She was making the block lower and lower.

"Margo...?" Marine was so shocked of how in the game Margo was.

The block was getting lower and lower to the sandy ground. She only had twenty more blocks to go according to the screen.

"Wait! WHO IS THAT?" AAA finally questioned as he was pointing at hammer swinging Margo.

"That's Margo," Marine answered as she was staring at Margo banging up the little brick-like blocks. Marine didn't even know if that was really Margo.

"Oh... uh... well, okay..." AAA was remembering Margo being mentioned having Floppy Tongue. He was very confused of who Margo was. He would have never guessed that Margo was a lazy Kacheek before this day.

Margo finished Extreme Mode steadily, with one too many close calls.

Margo wasn't even cheering anymore. She wasn't doing it to finish, but for the first time in her life, she was doing something for the love of it.

"LET'S DO THIS THING!" Margo shouted.

Finally came Double Trouble Extreme.

This time like I said, there were not one, but TWO blocks that were steadily building up to the sky.

"HIIIIIIIYAHHHHHH!" Margo screamed as she was crazily hitting blocks. She was slamming those blocks as the bits of the blocks were flying across the sky and some landed in her now messed up hair.

She wasn't intimidated like the game was made to do to its players. She thought it was a brisk walk in the park when it came to how easy it was. Her playing, well, words can't really describe THAT.

"WOW," both AAA and Marine gasped. They couldn't believe what Margo was made of.

Margo was left with two blocks to go, and what was so convenient was that she only needed two blocks. She saw the blocks... and...

BAM! She won the game!

"That's how it's done! YEAH!" Margo exclaimed.

"YAY, MARGO!" cheered AAA and Marine.

With a flash of colors, AAA and Marine watched with squinted eyes as Margo reappeared before them.

"WOW! That was AMAZING!" Margo had her hair all ruffled up, bits of rocks in her hair, and an insane look in her eyes.

"Well, Margo, ready to go?" Marine asked.

"Are you kidding me? I'm doing that again!" She pressed the green button again and she was teleported back into the game.

"Now what do we do?" AAA asked.

"Why don't we go to Maraqua and go to Kelp? Have some dinner? My treat!"

"You think we won't keep her waiting?"

Marine watched the screen as Margo was bashing blocks.

"Hmmmm... nah. She'll be fine!"

"So, tomorrow? Same place? Same time? Different game?" AAA asked.

"Correct!" said Marine with anticipation.

They both laughed about what was awaiting them the very next day. They could barely wait.

_To be continued..._


	5. AUTHOR'S NOTES! GET YOUR AUTHOR'S NOTES!

_Hey, everybody! Welcome back to the Neopets gamer's favorite series, Within the Games!_

_ Now for experienced Within the Game readers, you know what's happened. But for newbies and forgetters, let me recap what's happened in the past four parts of Within the Games._

_ In Part 1, it was of course the beginning of the series. Marine the Zafara and AAA the Blumaroo started experimenting AAA's invention called the Cyber-Port 2000, a crazy machine that can teleport you into any game in Neopia that you choose. Marine was the first to actually try the Cyber-Port 2000, but AAA thought that when she started her favorite game (Shenkuu Warrior 2), she was doomed._

_ In Part 2, Marine was actually playing Shenkuu Warrior 2 with the character's eyes. She went through the green landscapes, to the rocky cliffs, to the freezing summit! AAA was able to walk her through the world behind his invention, and because of this, Marine won the game. That was the day that they realized what the machine could actually do._

_ In Part 3, you first get to meet Marine's best friend Margo the Kacheek. Now in this part of the story, Margo is a little lazy and a hater of technology, ESPECIALLY video games! Marine was so fed up of how much Margo hated video games that she forcefully dragged her right to the Game Room. At the Game Room, Margo met a mysterious stuttering Wocky named Jeffery, who watched her play video games. Later, Margo found out about the Cyber-Port 2000 and accidentally used it to warp herself into Destruct-O-Match 3._

_ And finally in Part 4, Marine got broke up in pieces because she thought that Margo vanished off of the face of Neopia, while Margo was actually in Destruct-O-Match 3! Marine and AAA saw Margo smashing different colored bricks one by one. During that game, something changed inside of Margo. She turned from a lazy bum to an ultimate gamer like Marine._

_ Well then, now that you're all caught up, let's get back to Part 5 of Within the Games! Wait a minute, did you ask for what to expect here in Part 5? Well, let me give you three words to prepare you for what's to come. Racers. Bravery. Faeries. Hope that equipped you! Now go enjoy Within the Games!_

Marine the Zafara was walking into the Game Room, thinking of what she was going to play today.

"Let's see," Marine wondered. "What game should I play today? Barf Boat? No, too gross! Snowbeast Snackrifice? Nah, I love Petpets! I'm not a cruel Zafara! Faerie Racers?"

Marine walked over to Faerie Racers.

"PERFECT!" thought Marine.

She remembered that she read a book about Faerie Racers cheats, and what better time to use that new, fresh knowledge?

She started a new game and chose to be an Earth Faerie. The character that she always played. Why? Well, no reason, she just liked the color green and had a huge collection of Earth Faerie merchandise. One of Marine's traits that annoyed the heck out of Margo. And no trip to the Cyber-Port 2000 can change that.

Marine raced around, trying to stump her opponent by either making them run into her trail of leaves, or run helplessly into a tree.

As she was playing, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

Marine paused her game and quickly turned around.

She found AAA smiling at her and pointing in the direction of his office. She smiled back. She knew what this meant.

They quietly walked to his office and shut the door.

"So Marine, I saw you play Faerie Racers, is that what you want to play today?"

"Yeah! That would be really cool to play for real!"

"Alright, well, you know what to do!"

Marine and AAA hopped onto the platforms like they'd done it all their lives.

They disappeared into a flash of light, and found themselves plunging down to the clouds below.

"AHHHHHH!" AAA and Marine screamed until they finally fell on a cloud.

"HAHAHAHAHA! That was cool!" said Marine.

Yeah, it was pretty fun for Marine now. When she first tried the Cyber-Port 2000, she played Shenkuu Warrior 2, and for all you Neopets gaming enthusiasts, you know what that means! Rocks. Dirt. Gravel. Landing on the cloud instead of the mountain, well... you may have the ability to interpret that in any way you wish.

"Wow... out here it's... um..." AAA said.

"Pretty?"

"Yeah, Marine. Pretty."

And was it pretty? Heck yeah! It was a beautiful, heavenly wonderland of fluffy clouds and rainbows. There were Faerie Petpets happily flying around and little Harrises frolicking around everywhere. As you can hear from this description, it's a girly-girl's dream come true!

They walked around the soft and sweet scenery, they found a Faerie painted Elephante at a ticket booth.

"TICKETS! TICKETS! GET YOUR TICKETS TO THE FAERIE RACERS TOURNAMENT RIGHT HERE! SEE EVERY TYPE OF FAERIE FLY AT UNIMAGINABLE SPEEDS AS THEY TRY TO USE THEIR WITS TO STUMP EACH OTHER TO WIN!"

"Excuse me?" Marine looked up at the Elephante in the Ticket Booth.

"Yes, miss?"

"Well, I'm Marine the Zafara and this is AAA the Blumaroo and-"

"Oh! You must be the other participators!"

"What? Oh! We just wanted maybe tickets..."

The Elephante looked at his clipboard of participators. He found AAA and Marine on the list.

"No! You're participating, kids! The racers are over at that shack getting ready."

The Elephante pointed at the shack that was right in front of the ring.

"Oh! Um... thanks. C'mon, AAA..."

"Right!" He was pretty shocked himself.

They had no idea how they were able to participate. Oh sure, they knew they were going to play, but not like racing. They thought that they would maybe cheer or something like that.

They finally saw the shack and they knocked on the door.

"No soliciting! We don't accept guild requests or lottery tickets!" a voice proclaimed on the other side of the door.

"Yeah! And no visits from the 'Happiness Faerie' neither!" This was obviously the Space Faerie.

"No! We're participating in the competition!" yelled AAA back.

"Well, why didn't you just SAY so?" replied a voice.

The door opened and an Earth Faerie was on the other side.

"HEY! You're not Faeries! YOU'RE NEOPETS!"

Marine was about to laugh hysterically, but she was able to hold it in. She was just thinking of her Earth Faerie collection back home, and what Margo would say if she told her that she met an angry Earth Faerie. WHAT? She could just simply hear her.

"Oh, don't be so rude!"

A lovely figure walked towards them. She had a nice gentle smile on her face. AAA gasped and Marine was just as amazed.

"Hey, AAA! Is that...?"

"Hello, kind Neopians," the figure said to them.

"FYORA!" they both exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" asked AAA.

"I have come to observe the Faerie Racers Tournament. Are you here to see it as well?" she asked.

"Well," replied Marine, "We were actually thinking of competing in the Tournament!"

"Oh! Well, in that case, please come in!"

They walked into the house and it seemed to be that every Faerie that had their own fan club was there.

"Hi! Hello! What's happening?" all the Faeries asked happily to AAA and Marine.

Both AAA and Marine smiled and shook hands to every Faerie.

"Awww, you two are just so CUTE!" a Light Faerie exclaimed.

"Yes, they are. I can't remember the last time cuter Neopets were in here!" replied a Fire Faerie.

"And their teeth are so clean! Not a single cavity!" exclaimed the Tooth Faerie, examining AAA's teeth.

"Say," the Earth Faerie said to Marine, looking humiliated by her rudeness. "No hard feelings, right?"

"Of course not! It's the Zafara Code: Forgive and Forget!" replied Marine.

"Is that really the Zafara Code?" AAA asked as the Tooth Faerie was looking at his mouth with amazement.

"Actually, I don't really know if us Zafaras really HAVE a code!"

Everyone laughed happily.

"So, are you two really going to compete in the Faerie Racers Tournament?" a Water Faerie asked AAA and Marine.

"We sure are! If you don't mind, of course!" they both replied.

All the Faeries seemed excited that Neopets were actually going to compete for the first time. They were assuring Marine and AAA that it would be very fun with those two competing. Until-

"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHA! YOU? You're just Neopets!" A puff of purple smoke appeared before all of the Faeries. The shack seemed colder and darker. There were gasps that filled the shack.

"Oh no... it's a Dark Faerie," whispered Fyora to Marine and AAA.

"What are YOU doing here?" barked AAA.

"I have come to regain my reigning championship title!"

"Championship title?" Marine said questionably.

"Unfortunately," said Fyora to the Neopets, "she has won every Tournament we have had."

"What? Really?" AAA asked.

"Yes! It's true! But she cheats all the time!" a Snow Faerie claimed.

"She never gives any of us a chance!" the Space Faerie chimed in.

There were many claims of how unfair the Dark Faerie was, but the Dark Faerie still had a smirk on her face.

"Now, sisters," Fyora said, calmly trying to bring the peace back into that shack, "she has given you all a chance; she's just... she's just..."

"BETTER THAN YOU!" the Dark Faerie exclaimed.

"Now just wait a darn second!"

"Who said that?" the Dark Faerie roared.

"That'd be me! Marine the Zafara!"

"And AAA the Blumaroo!"

"We're not going down without a fight! No matter what you dish out!"

"Heheheheh. Fine. I can't wait to get started," the Dark Faerie said in a mocking tone.

_To be continued..._


	6. Mary Sue Breaks Her Arm!

"Well? What are you all waiting for? LET'S GET STARTED!" The Dark Faerie let out a menacing cackle that could have made the darkest villain shiver.

"Don't tell us what to do!" the Fire Faerie snarled.

"Girls! Let's just go outside and let the Neopians choose their Racers!"

Oh sure, Fyora is graceful and nice, but the Dark Faerie was making her just as upset as everyone else. And why not? The Dark Faerie WAS obnoxious, wasn't she? And every Neopian, Faerie and Neopet alike has something that annoys them. For example, the thing that annoys Marine the most is when people mock her about her being a girl and liking video games at the same time. So everyone has that exception!

"Oh well, the sooner the better," the Snow Faerie whispered to the Light Faerie.

"I'll say!" the Light Faerie replied back.

Everyone including the Faeries walked outside to a fenced-in area that was lined with everyone's Racers.

Marine and AAA were walking around the seven Racers, trying to choose the best one.

"OH, COME ON! PICK ONE ALREADY! OH, THIS IS TAKING TOO LONG! I'LL MEET YOU AT THE RING!" the Dark Faerie yelled. A purple puff of smoke pervaded over the Dark Faerie again. She was gone, waiting for the two Neopets at the ring.

"Good riddance..." the Water Faerie muttered.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief now that the Dark Faerie was gone.

AAA chose the Space Faerie's Racer, and Marine chose the Earth Faerie's Racer.

The Faeries were staring at AAA and Marine in shock.

"You DON'T have to do this, you know! After all, she IS a Dark Faerie!" the Snow Faerie told both of the Neopets.

"Don't any of you worry about us! We'll be fine!" exclaimed AAA with confidence.

"AAA's right! It'll be okay!" Marine said, agreeing with AAA.

"Alright, but all of us will be up in the stands cheering you on!" the Earth Faerie said.

"You will?" asked AAA.

"Sure! We would cheer you on anyway! We're starting to be fond of you Neopians!"

All of the other Faeries agreed that they had their backs.

"Thanks, guys!" AAA and Maine exclaimed as everyone wished them luck.

Marine and AAA flew into the ring and the Dark Faerie let out a cackle as she was waiting for them.

"Hey, what's so funny?" asked Marine angrily. The Dark Faerie was starting to annoy Marine.

"Just the thought of both of you going against ME!" the Dark Faerie said as she chuckled wickedly.

"Good grief. And Abigail thought MY ego was twisted," AAA mumbled.

"I heard that, you know!"

"Okay whatever. So how will this game work?" asked Marine.

"Why don't we make you two go against that witch?" the Fire Faerie sneered as the other Faeries agreed in cheers.

"I'll do it, it won't matter anyway!" said the Dark Faerie.

"Alright you three," Fyora said calmly, "I want this to be a fair and clean game. Does everyone know how to play?"

"Of course I do!" the Dark Faerie snarled.

Everyone was officially annoyed by the Dark Faerie's arrogance. Even Fyora seemed to be irritated.

"Fine then. When I say go, the Tournament will begin! 3... 2... 1... GO!"

And the Tournament started! All the Faeries cheered AAA and Marine on as they raced in great speed. They raced around different obstacles and the Dark Faerie's trail of Black Magic as some like to call it.

In case if you didn't know, Faerie Racers is a game in which you leave a trail with your Racer. If you hit a trail or some other obstacle, you lose. It's very adrenaline rushing.

So anyway, back to the story. The Dark Faerie raced right towards Marine at a great and dangerous speed. Marine was trying to trap the Dark Faerie.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You really think YOU can defeat ME?! YOU WILL LOSE!" cackled the Dark Faerie to Marine.

"Oh, shut up, will ya? Now I know how others feel about MY ego!" AAA shouted at her.

YES! FINALLY! THIS IS THE DAY A BREAKTHROUGH HAS BEEN MADE!

I mean, yes. AAA was really agitated due to the Dark Faerie's uncontrollable ego, and he was actually having a moment when he pitied those who couldn't stand his ridiculous personality.

"Oh, poor Abigail..." thought AAA as he was thinking of the number of times Abigail told other Neopians about how they shouldn't mind AAA's ego, as it can get annoying, but hilarious.

"It's YOU who will be defeated, Dark Faerie!" Marine yelled. She was trying to use those Faerie Racers tips from her book to good use, but in some way, the Dark Faerie was able to dodge everything.

"Oh, is that so? Well, try this one on for size, speedy!" The Dark Faerie let out a laugh and waved her hand in the air. A large, black cloud of smoke appeared before Marine.

"Ack! I can't see!" Marine screamed. She was trying to fan the smoke away from her, but the smoke was attracted to her like a paperclip to a magnet.

"MARINE LOOK OUT!" AAA shouted but-too late.

Marine rammed into a tree and her Racer evaporated.

"Hey! That's not fair!" the Light Faerie yelled. The others began to boo.

"Hey! It's not MY fault she can't pay attention!" remarked the Dark Faerie.

Marine appeared before the Faeries in the stand with a bloody nose, leaves in her hair, and her left arm twisted all the way around.

"Oh dear..." the Tooth Faerie whispered.

"What is it?" asked the Space Faerie.

Marine groaned in pain with a few tears rolling down her face. The Tooth Faerie scooped her up in her arms.

"Her arm's broken!"

"Oh my goodness! That Faerie can do anything in her power just to win!" The Earth Faerie sighed.

"Poor Zafara..." the Light Faerie muttered as she was rubbing Marine's forehead.

"Come on, let's take her to the shack and put her arm in a sling," the Snow Faerie said.

Everyone agreed and flew over to the shack. They placed Marine on the couch and wiped the blood around her nose. The Water Faerie found a long piece of cloth, tied it around her shoulder, and gently placed her arm in it.

Fyora looked really worried as the Faeries raced Marine into the shack.

"Dark Faerie, that wasn't called for!" bellowed Fyora. Despite of her calm nature, the Dark Faerie just went too far.

"Yeah? Well, I don't care at all of that speedo weirdo!"

"You'll pay for what you did!" AAA said. The Dark Faerie reached AAA's boiling point. He was ready to beat her, once and for all.

"TRY ME, BOUNCY BOY!"

AAA rode around the whole course so he could trap the Dark Faerie with his trail of stars. The Dark Faerie was spinning around in her Racer. She didn't know where to go. She was stuck.

"I'm trapped! NO!" She knew it was futile to move on, so she forfeited.

"Oh, really?" AAA cackled, imitating the Dark Faerie.

"I give up! I give up!" and she ran purposely into AAA's trail.

"Yeah! I DID IT!" AAA happily shouted.

"Good job, Neopian! You defeated the Dark Faerie!" said Fyora with happiness.

The Dark Faerie disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Marine was still on the couch, and some of the Faeries surrounded her.

"Hey, I hear cheering outside!" said the Fire Faerie as she looked out the window.

Marine's eyes began to flutter.

"Look! She's waking up!" the Earth Faerie proclaimed.

"What... what happened?" Marine asked as she was slowly getting up. The other Faeries were helping her up off of the couch.

"The Dark Faerie broke your arm during the match because she ran you into a tree, but it appears that your friend has won!" answered the Earth Faerie as they were carefully helping Marine walk outside to see the winner, AAA.

"AAA!" Marine said.

"Marine!" AAA ran towards Marine. He noticed that she had her arm in the sling.

"Marine! Your... your arm!"

"Yeah, I know. When I ran into that tree, the impact of the crash made my arm twist and break. Well, at least that's what they told me!" Marine replied as she pointed at the Faeries.

"Ready to go home?"

"Sure am. I don't exactly feel like breaking any more bones today!" Marine replied.

"I hope you will come see us again!" said Fyora.

All the Faeries waved goodbye, and both AAA and Marine waved back.

In a blast of colors and lights, AAA and Marine were teleported back to AAA's office.

"Are you okay, Marine?" AAA asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

"Well, if we ever want to see those Faeries again, we should just go to Faerieland," he responded quietly, even though he tried to make it sound like a humorous joke.

"HAHAHA! Yeah, we should! It was fun, but the Dark Faerie is a lot meaner than she is now! I don't know if I want to run into HER again!"she replied joyfully.

As they were exiting the office, AAA had a thought in his head he wanted to keep to himself.

"This may be more dangerous than I thought! Maybe I should... destroy the machine."

_To be continued..._


	7. Sisterly Tension!

AAA and Marine were in the office where the Cyber-Port 2000 was located. Marine and AAA were simply just talking about the fun they would have. It was just great until they walked over to the Cyber-Port 2000.

"Cyber-Port 2000, take us to Faerie Racers!"

AAA had no idea why he was talking to the machine. After all, it's the type of machine that you actually TYPE the orders in! Not talk to!

Then the machine was beginning to... talk back.

"I AM SORRY, AAA. BUT I AM AFRAID I CAN'T DO THAT."

"AAA, what's going on?" Marine asked AAA. They were both really scared.

The Cyber-Port 2000 was beginning to grow... arms. The arms were grabbing onto Marine's legs as a black hole appeared on the screen.

"AAA! AAA! HELP!"

Marine was trying to grab AAA's outstretched hand, but her hand slipped and couldn't grab on.

"MARINE!" AAA screamed. He was trying to run towards Marine, but he couldn't move. He was running, but he wasn't getting anywhere. It's like he was running on a treadmill that never stopped.

Marine was about to sink into the black hole and-

"NOOOOO!" AAA shouted as he woke up from his nightmare.

He couldn't take it anymore. He didn't care if it was 2:00 AM NST, he had to destroy the machine NOW.

He got up from bed and put on his slippers. He took down his bathrobe and tied the rope around his waist.

He slowly tiptoed around Abigail's room, and right before he was about to leave through the front door-

"Hey, big bro, what'cha doin'? It's 2:00 in the morning!"

It was Abigail, his little sister who just stepped out of her bedroom to get a glass of water. This was the last person he wanted to see right now. Abigail wouldn't believe what's going on and what AAA needed to do.

"None of your business!" snapped AAA.

"Geez, Aristotle! Polite, much?"

"Sorry, this is a private matter!"

"Oh please. Will you just tell me? What are you gonna do? Rob the National Neopian Bank?"

"I told you! THIS IS A PRIVATE MATTER!" he screamed.

"ARISTOTLE A. AVINROO! TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON! NOW! YOU GOTTA HAVE SOME REASON TO GO OUT THIS LATE AT NIGHT SO TELL ME!" she screamed even louder. She wasn't nosy, she just wanted to make sure that her brother was taken care of. What type of sister would she be if her brother did something fatal and she wasn't there to help?

AAA couldn't fight it. He had to tell Abigail. She deserved to know, and he didn't care if she would take it seriously or not.

"*sigh* Alright, here's what's going on." AAA told his sister about Marine and the Cyber-Port 2000. He told her the adventures that him and Marine had with the Cyber-Port 2000. Shenkuu Warrior 2. Destruct-O-Match 3. He even told Abigail about how Marine got hurt in Faerie Racers. Even the dream he had. He told her everything.

Abigail didn't joke around with him like she did like the last time he talked to her about the Cyber-Port 2000. She actually seemed a little... upset.

"Oh. I see..." Abigail sighed. If she could go back in time when she and AAA were talking about the Cyber-Port 2000, she would have taken all the Floppy Tongue stuff back.

"I promise I'll be back later."

He hugged his sister and walked out the door. She looked out to him, worried.

AAA finally arrived at the Game Room. He took out his set of keys and found the key to the Game Room. He unlocked the Game Room and walked towards his office. He unlocked and opened the door.

He turned on the light and found the Cyber-Port 2000.

AAA was pacing around his office looking at the Cyber-Port 2000. It's been four hours and he just couldn't decide what to do.

"Oh, poor Marine! I let all this go too far! I have to tell Marine that I should destroy you!" he said as he pointed at the machine.

He thought hard...

He was beginning to have an internal war with himself.

He didn't want to hurt Marine's feelings, but yet he didn't want to put himself and Marine in even more danger.

"What should I do? Because of me, Marine's arm is broken! We could have gotten lost in cyberspace at any given moment! We could have vanished and never return to Neopia at any time!"

AAA punched the machine with his fist. "Why is this so hard? I worked so hard on what I thought would be a device used for fun and excitement! Not a weapon to hurt people! That's it! I have to tell Marine! I have to... to get rid of the Cyber-Port 2000!"

He took out a piece of paper and a pencil from the drawer of his office desk. He wrote a letter that said:

_Marine,_

_ I have realized that the safest thing that we should do is destroy the Cyber-Port 2000. I know that you don't want this to happen, but when you broke your arm, I became worried. We could've disappeared at any moment. I'm sorry, but I am left with no other options. I will do it, but I won't be able to do it without you. Meet me in my office today._

_ -AAA_

He went out to the mailbox outside of the Game Room and placed the letter inside it. He walked back inside, still with conflicting emotions.

Later that morning, Marine and her friend Margo were walking around Neopia Central when they went to the post office to check their mailbox to see if they got any Neomail.

Margo was leafing through the mail to the fact Marine's arm was broken and couldn't hold all of the mail with one hand.

"Anything for me?" Marine asked anxiously.

"Not yet. Oh! Yeah! This one's for you! It's from your friend AAA."

She ripped open the envelope and gave the Neomail inside it to Marine.

As Marine read the Neomail, she was beginning to have a pained look on her face. You could see her eyes beginning to water.

"Oh no..." Marine whispered to herself.

"What does it say?" questioned Margo.

"It says that... that..."

"That what?"

"AAA wants to destroy the Cyber-Port 2000! I have to get to the Game Room! And fast!"

Marine ran quickly to the Game Room and Margo was still frozen in shock at the Post Office from what she heard.

She was still not the biggest fan of video games, but she still liked them. She actually loved the Cyber-Port 2000. It was the biggest thrill she ever had.

"Little girl, are you alright?" asked the elderly Chia as he looked down at her over the counter.

"What? Yeah, yeah Mr. Post... I just... got some disturbing information in the mail..." Margo replied.

Marine sprinted into AAA's office even though her arm looked awkward wobbling around in her sling. She ran up to AAA, who had a sad look in his eyes when he saw her.

"AAA? What's this about?"

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly.

"I got this letter in the mail, and I... I was wondering if..."

"If what, Marine?"

"If you really wanted to destroy the Cyber-Port 2000."

"I... I... I don't even know now."

"Will you at least tell me why you would even think that?"

"Well, I first thought it was the biggest accomplishment of my life, but when you broke your arm, I felt like I purposely broke it! I didn't think it was an accident! I felt like it was my fault!"

"But I ran into a tree! That's an accident!"

"Yeah, but where did you break your arm?"

"Faerie Racers," replied Marine.

"And if some Neopets on the street asked you how you broke your arm, what would you say?"

"I... fell off of my bike."

"See? Not only did you break your arm because of the machine, but you also had to lie about why you broke it in the first place so you can keep the secret of this stupid Cyber-Port 2000! I had to keep this secret for years! I turned down my friends just so I could work on it! I even missed my own Birthday Party because of this evil contraption! You could have been even more hurt! YOU COULD HAVE VANISHED BECAUSE OF MY IDEA!" AAA kicked the machine and Marine watched with sorrow.

"Oh, I never knew you... I mean I'm... I'm sorry."

"Why apologize of my past? The past has happened!"AAA screamed angrily. But he wasn't yelling at Marine, he was more like yelling at himself.

"When you first talked to me about it, you were thrilled!"

"Believe me, I was thrilled! I just didn't picture the negativity behind the machine until now! Yes, I did warn you when you first tried the Cyber-Port 2000, but when you came out in one piece, I stopped caring! I stopped caring about our safety! I began to stop caring about the side effects behind the Cyber-Port 2000!"

"I guess I understand... well... are you going to...?"

"Yes... will destroy it... today... now."

Marine looked around the room and found a mallet leaning against the pinball machine. She gave the mallet to AAA with tears in her eyes.

"Whenever you're ready, AAA." She tried to hold in her tears, but it was fruitless. The machine was her dream, but she never knew that her dream was really a nightmare in disguise.

_To be continued..._


	8. Game Over! (Finally!)

"Alright... here I go." AAA was holding up his mallet and was ready to hit the Cyber-Port 2000. Right when he was about to destroy the machine, he heard Marine cry.

"WAHHHH!" Marine cried.

"Marine! What's wrong?"

"Uh... nothing! Nothing! Continue..." Marine whimpered.

"Marine... this was why it was hard for me to destroy the Cyber-Port 2000 before... I didn't know what you would think about it. I knew that you would be upset, I just knew it..."

"AAA, don't worry about me... I'm fine. In fact, I'll do it!" Marine was trying to hold back her tears, showing AAA she was alright, but in her heart she was still upset.

"Marine! Are you sure?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm sure."

"But I thought this was your dream! What would make you the happiest Zafara alive!"

"I already am the happiest Zafara alive! I have a home, great friends, and I have great games to play in the Game Room to make me happy! I met you; that was a plus! Oh sure, this thing was fun, but it is dangerous! And what if other people figure out about this thing? What will happen then, huh? You tell me!" she yelled.

Marine knew that. She knew she was telling the truth. She just knew it.

AAA was very surprised about what Marine said.

He was thinking about how he told her about why he couldn't tell anyone about the Cyber-Port 2000. Someone could disappear. Someone else could take it the wrong way. And what he said about being on the Neopian Times the next morning.

"You mean... you mean you're willing to ruin your dream for everyone's safety?" AAA asked.

"Well, I mean it's not like I'm going to die for everyone. I mean, you can get a dream from anywhere! It'll be sad for me, but I can do it. I don't want anything cheesy, I just want to get this DONE."

"Yeah, but... but..."

"Nothing mushy, AAA. I'm a tom-boy, remember? Now hand me the mallet, AAA."

"But... I..."

"HAND ME THE MALLET. NOW."

She took the mallet from his hands. She was ready to take the duty to destroy the machine, even though her eyes were still watery and she said that it would. She held it above her head and closed her eyes. She swung the mallet and...

She made a dent in the machine.

Tears were flying off of her eyes as she was doing it. She knew she had to be done, but it was so hard to say goodbye to such an amazing dream even if it was turned into a tragic nightmare. But she was strong. She was determined. She was brave. Even though she couldn't believe what she was doing, she knew that it was the right thing to do.

Marine did it again, and again, and yet again. Until...

She opened her eyes. She found AAA's mouth agape, and the Cyber-Port 2000 ruined.

Marine dropped the mallet and ran out of the office, crying. She knew what she did, she just couldn't believe that she ruined her own fantasy of playing within the game. She still couldn't get over it. No one ruined her dream, but she ruined her own. Her OWN dream. Who has ever heard of that?

"MARINE! MARINE, WAIT!" AAA shouted as he ran after Marine.

Marine ran out of the Game Room and ran to a log under a tree. She sat on it and cried even more. Marine didn't know to be happy or sad, but the power of sadness outstripped the happiness within her.

"Marine!" AAA found her sitting on that log, weeping.

"Marine... you did it! You destroyed the machine!"

"Yeah, *sniffle*, I guess I... I did."

"Marine, I know this is hard to let go, but just remember all the fun times both you and I had... together."

Marine remembered playing Shenkuu Warrior 2, flying through the sky with nothing but a grappling hook. She remembered playing Destruct-O-Match with AAA and watching her best friend Margo play and realize that she did like video games. She even remembered playing Faerie Racers with AAA... when she broke her arm by running into a tree.

Marine looked down at her broken arm that she got from Faerie Racers. Marine looked up to AAA.

"Yeah... the Cyber-Port 2000 was pretty fun for a while..."

"Just put this behind you, and remember all the good times we had with that blasted machine. As for your arm, everyone's broke their arm at least once in their life!"

"You're right, AAA. I have to realize that I did the right thing... and I should put this sadness behind me. After all, like I said before, I can find a new dream! They never die out on you, right?"

"That's right. The two of us should keep moving forward. And like I said before, the past has happened!"

Marine smiled. She got up and headed for home.

"Well, AAA, I've got to go. I have to pick up Margo at the post office. She's probably still in deep shock from what happened today," said Marine with a smile.

"Goodbye, Marine!"

"Bye, AAA! I guess I'll see you tomorrow!"

She walked off to her home.

"Wait, Marine!"

She turned around.

"Yes, AAA?" she shouted.

"Do... do you...?"

"Do I what?"

"Do you may be want to come back tomorrow? If you don't want to, I can totally understand."

"Sure! Of course I'll come tomorrow! The Cyber-Port 2000 can't ruin my loving for gaming! This time, we can play video games the old fashioned way!"

"Hahaha! Yeah, nothing wrong with the old fashioned way for anything!"

And so Marine and AAA walked back to their homes, putting the past behind them, and waiting with hope for the next day to come.

Epilogue

One day after Marine destroyed the Cyber-Port 2000, Marine was at home playing Mystery Island Kacheekers with her friend Margo.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I WIN AGAIN!" Margo shouted in victory.

"Alright, Margo. I'll go with the deal. The loser has to go get the Neopian Times," said Marine with a deep sigh.

She got up from her seat and walked outside to get the Neopian Times from their doorstep. She picked up the newspaper with her good hand. When she stepped back inside, she gave the paper to Margo.

"Now, let's see what's going on today in Neopia," Margo said.

She opened up the paper and read the front page. As she was reading it, her eyes were starting to get wider and wider.

"Oh my gosh..."she whispered softly.

"What is it?"

"You know your friend AAA?"

"Yes. What about him?"

"He made the front page!"

"He WHAT?!"

"See for yourself!"

She showed Marine the picture of AAA with the ruined Cyber-Port 2000. He had the usual serious look on his face, but his eyes looked sad.

"What's the article about?" Marine asked.

"Let me read it to you. Ahem," Margo replied as she began to start reading the article.

"AAA, a Blumaroo gamer who made the Game Room famous with new game challenges and the Daily Dare, was discovered to be working on a machine called the Cyber-Port 2000, a device with which you could be teleported to any game you choose. We figured out this information thanks to our new news reporter Jeffery St. John."

There was a picture of Jeffery St. John in the middle of the article.

"Hey! That's the Wocky that watched you to make sure you played a game a couple of days ago!" remarked Marine to Margo.

"He was a reporter? I would have never guessed!" said Margo.

"Anyway," Marine said, "continue."

Margo continued.

" 'This was a strange invention for AAA to create,' said Jeffery. 'I witnessed the work of the contraption myself when I saw a Kacheek named Margo be zapped into the famous game Destruct-O-Match. I told her that I had to go home, but I secretly snuck behind her.' However, once the news team finally found the Cyber-Port 2000, the machine was destroyed. The screen was cracked, the microphone's neck was bent, and there were holes and dents all over the body of the machine. But why? We asked the creator AAA this question. This was his reply: 'I wanted to ruin this invention because my friend Marine the Zafara experienced danger because of this machine. She broke her arm by running into a tree when we were playing Faerie Racers. In fact, she was the one who first tested the machine and she was also the one who destroyed the machine altogether.' He explained how the machine was dangerous and could leave you trapped in the world of cyberspace, at the point where you would disappear from existence, so it was actually a good thing that this machine was destroyed. He also requested to say a message to Marine if she was going to read the Neopian Times this morning: 'Marine, you really are the bravest Neopian I know. You had such a great attitude and were ready for anything that evil contraption dished out. I'm sorry for your arm and I hope it gets better. Well, like I said, we should just remember all the fun times we had, and anticipate the adventure that awaits us tomorrow.'"

**The End**

* * *

**_Well, there you have it! The first entry into the BAA Vault: Within the Games! So...what do you guys think of my writing from two years ago? In my opinion, turning my Neopet into a Mary Sue over time was...interesting to read. Not to mention all the weird capitalization and the random author's note in Part 5. Yes, I do believe it was not my...best work, but I like to think I've improved since then. I guess you can say this was the first FanFic I've ever written in my life, so...yeah!_**

**_This is BAA, signing off! Thank you all for reading!_**


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